Legerdemain
by Tanuki
Summary: A few years have passed since Sakura’s cardcaptoring days, but it seems Clow was not the only one to know about her special Star magic.. Strange things begin to happen once again, and Sakura is the main target. But what is really going on? Slightly-AU.


Konnichiwa, minna-san! Welcome to Legerdemain! I'm glad you've expressed a little amount of interest to at least click here.

This is an action/adventure/drama story, but I assure you, there will be plenty of inserts of other genres, too. And yes. That does include romance, for all you mush-fans. There's a pretty involved plot in the making here, even though you're only scratching at the surface of it in this first chapter.. be patient, you'll see what's going to happen in the next few chapters. But believe me; don't jump to conclusions _too_ quickly! ;3

You'll notice that this fic is only slightly AU. Basically, the only differences between this following the plot of the anime/manga is the fact that I've decided to exclude Syaoran's confessions of love to Sakura. It makes life easier keeping her oblivious, and besides, it gives me room to put them in some situations later on. XD They won't be the only coupling, either!

And without further ado, heeeere's Legerdemain!

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**Legerdemain**

**Chapter I: Trust Your Intuition**

The sun was slowly descending into the horizon, sending warm afternoon rays over the town of Tomoeda. A few select individuals perused the shops, while more studious types lurked about the town library. Cars here and there went to their destinations, while one certain public bus slowed to a stop, letting a passenger step down onto the sidewalk. Motor roaring into action once again after she disembarked, the bus began its trundle down the long street, sending a burst of dust and exhaust spiralling into the air behind it. Back at the bus stop, the girl coughed, waving her hand before her face in an attempt to clear the air of the fumes.

'_Oh how I love public transport..'_

Once the gases had well and truly cleared, the bus long since having turned the corner to another street, the young teenage girl took the chance to gaze around at her surroundings. Emerald eyes took it all in; not that there was much to see, of course. It was just your usual residential area: houses, trees, a bench for the bus stop, and the like. Glancing at her watch, she then started to trudge off up the street, humming no particular tune to herself.

"Tomoyo-chan said she'd meet me outside of the café at four.." The girl mused to herself, idly tucking a tress of honey-brown hair behind her ear. "Shouldn't take me more than five minutes to walk up there, so I'll actually be on time for once!"

Kinomoto Sakura was just another Japanese teenage female. There was absolutely nothing about her that shouted out that she was any different from her classmates – or most other young girls her age, either. Sure, she was pretty, but there were others more attractive than her by a long shot. She wasn't overtly gifted in academics, but didn't often fail subjects (sans mathematics) either. Her athletic ability was admired by many, but, truth be told, Sakura really didn't put as much effort into that section of her life as she really should have. Her life, as seen by an outsider, was 'normal'.

Too bad that view was completely and utterly wrong.

Briskly turning a corner, the young teen found herself on a street that barely differed from the one she was on before. Absentmindedly, Sakura fingered her necklace – or, more specifically, the key-like object that hung from it. Her life as a cardcaptor may have occurred a few years ago, but that did not mean this girl would soon get out of the habit of wearing the Star Key, or taking the Sakura Cards along with her when she went out. As her mind drifted during the dull walk towards her rendezvous point with Tomoyo, as did her eyes, eventually landing on a particularly shabby-looking man, shuffling about near an alleyway a ways in front of her.

A frown flickered past Sakura's features; the poor man – not only was he homeless, but judging by the way he walked, he was a hunchback to boot! Pity welled in her eyes, but she said nothing, knowing that she could really do nothing about it. That was just how life was. Sighing as she passed him, lost in her thoughts, it took Sakura moment to register the fact that the vagabond old man was actually talking to her. She blinked towards him, having missed what he said.

"Nani?"

"Ojou-chan, please, could you spare a moment to help a tired old man?" Sakura noted that the elderly male spoke with a rasping voice, and, though she knew all the stories of not talking to strangers, something within his tone made her pity fall through common sense. Slowly, she nodded.

"Hai, jii-san.. what do you need help with?"

"My old bones are playing up on me today.. I can't for the life of me drag my belongings to a place where I can sleep tonight.." He gestured towards some hessian sacks close by, and then to an alleyway, just up the street. Sakura really felt sorry for him now – and, as such, immediately strode over to the packs, smiling warmly at the aged man.

"Just over here, then?" Seeing his conceding nod, Sakura proceeded to heft the bags over her shoulder; half-carrying, half-dragging them to the entrance of the back street. As she neared the entrance, however, her heart started to flutter erratically. Sakura frowned in consternation. What was there to be nervous about? After all, she was just giving an old man a hand in his life. Shrugging the feeling away as pure paranoia, the girl hefted the sacks once more, placing them where the man had suggested.

Wiping her brow slightly, Sakura spun around to leave, her usual cheery smile plastered on her face. She started to stride out of the alleyway, but the homeless male shuffled into her path. She blinked.

"Hoe?" She smiled at him, side-stepping out of the way – but he followed her path exactly. Blinking again, the girl tried it again, and again, but each time, he blocked her. Smile fading, Sakura stared at the man, heart aflutter with pangs of anxiety. "Ano, jii-san, is there something else?"

"Why, yes there is, ojou-chan.." The hermit's feeble voice of before was gone, replaced by a strong, intimidating tone of a middle-aged man. Sakura paled, eyes widening in horror as she watched the 'old man' seem to grow in height, until he was no longer around her stature, but instead a few inches taller. Casting off the garment he had previously donned – a shabby robe made to hide his real appearance – the man grinned maliciously down at her, teeth shining eerily in the filtered light of the alleyway. Sakura gasped, hands reaching for the wall, backing away in fright. However, she couldn't get far before another hand rested on her shoulder, loose albeit threatening. The girl froze, shaking slightly.

"Wait a moment, little mistress," a sultry voice purred in her ear, almost a growl, "don't leave just yet. We'd love to play with you for a bit before you go." Sakura could feel tears threatening to break through to the surface, even as this second male trailed a fingernail down her throat. Shaking free from the man's hand, she began to head further down the alleyway.

'_What can I do?!'_ desperately thought Sakura to herself, shaking as she watched the two men leering at her, backing away slowly. _'Wait.. the Sakura cards!'_ Grabbing her key, the girl held it above her head, beginning the chant – but was soon interrupted when another hand grabbed her wrist. Gasping, she spun around to come face-to-face with another attacker, this one with the strangest eyes she'd ever seen. They were glowing golden, and seemed to stare right through her.

"None of that, then," the third said harshly, and Sakura noticed he, too, had a distinct speaking style; he seemed to whistle softly at the end of a sentence. Wrenching her hand free of this one's grasp, she backed up against a wall, Star Key falling down back to her skin. She breathed heavily, staring as the three of her assailants grinned at her, confident, almost happy. _'Now what..?'_

"Ready?" Hissed the first, slithering in her direction. The second cracked his knuckles, growling under his breath in affirmation. The third merely nodded, his piercing glare still fiercely locked on her. Sakura froze up.

"No.. no.. this can't be happening.. not now.. no.. no.." She jammed her eyes shut, with a scream, flailing wildly as she felt the first of many blows to her body from her muggers. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

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Jade eyes fluttered open slowly, the young girl discarded in a nondescript alleyway finally awakening from the concussion given to her in the unfortunate fight she had been involved in. Sakura groaned, shifting, a hand going to her head immediately. When she removed her palm, though, a reddish liquid was evident on it, and she winced. Blinking up at the light filtering in, Sakura slowly moved her arm around to look at her watch, knocking over a pile of bottles as she did so. It read 5:13.. an hour or so after she was supposed to meet Tomoyo in the shops nearby. Sakura sunk back onto the rubbish she laid on, trying to ignore the pain, eyes closing. Suddenly, they snapped open again.

"Tomoyo-chan!" She mumbled, attempting to rise to a sitting position, succeeding with a bolt of pain to her temple. "She'll be worried about me, I'm sure.. I have to get.. to her.." Slowly Sakura scrabbled to her feet, leaning on the wall for support. Every part of her body seemed to hurt in some way. Limping forward off the wall, she managed to go forward a few steps before slumping to the ground again, tears slipping down her cheeks as she sobbed roughly, the memories of what had happened all coming back, the emotional scarring almost as bad as the physical one.

Soon enough, Sakura's tears ceased, and she sat there, on the ground, half curled around her knees, staring at nothing. The pain caused to her ribs by the wracking sobs was more what made her stop than a real sense of closure.

"I have to find.. Tomoyo-chan.." mumbled Sakura to herself, jade eyes dull. She almost seemed to be viewing everything from third-person, and supposed it was just her mind's way of dealing with the pain. Standing again, once again the girl continued her shuffle out of the alleyway, one hand always on the wall for support. Vaguely Sakura realised that her left ankle was at an odd angle, but continued on regardless.

Stumbling out into the afternoon light of the street, Sakura leaned against the wall of a building, breathing heavily. A beeping sound coming from her pocket brought her back to her senses, and the emerald-eyed girl blinked, withdrawing a vibrating cell phone. Judging by the caller ID, it was Tomoyo calling, and she'd left approximately fifty thousand messages as well – with only a little exaggeration. Faintly smiling, Sakura clicked the answer button on the phone, holding it to her ear.

"Moshi moshi, Tomoyo-chan," she said weakly, wincing as the outburst from her worried friend hit her ears.

"SAKURA-CHAN! Where are you?! Why haven't you answered me for the past hour?! I've been so worried! I called Touya-san and Naoko-chan and Rika-chan and Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun and others but nobody had seen you! Where are you? My bodyguards and I will come and get you! What's wrong, Sakura-chan? You're laughing--"

"Tomoyo-chan, calm down," replied Sakura, wincing slightly as she tested weight on her injured ankle. "I'm near the shops where we were supposed to meet.. I'll head up to the café there, okay? Ja ne, Tomoyo-chan," Ignoring the protests coming from the other end, Sakura hung up, with a smile. Mustn't worry the girl too much..

Slowly yet surely, the injured cardcaptor began to hobble down the street, eyes fixated on the corner – her goal. Defiantly did her eyes shine, even through the immense pain of her wounds; though Sakura had been through a lot, this had to be the worst she'd experienced. Though it took a good ten minutes, eventually Sakura reached the corner, and not a moment too soon, for it was at that moment that the black vehicle of Tomoyo's drove past, sapphire orbs glancing worriedly out of them. As the raven-haired teen spotted her friend, she gasped, and would have taken control of the car by herself if only her bodyguards hadn't have been such good drivers. Skidding to a halt before Sakura, Tomoyo practically leapt from the car, bolting over.

"Sakura-chan!" wailed Tomoyo, looking over her friend's grievances with fear, hand hesitating midair, not sure whether to go further or not. "Kami-sama! What happened?!"

Sakura smiled faintly at Tomoyo, feeling oddly light-headed. "It's okay, Tomoyo-chan.. don't.. worry.." Suddenly, Sakura slumped forward, eyes rolling to the back of her head as she finally succumbed to the concussion yet again. Screaming, Tomoyo rushed over, cradling the girl on her knees.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo gasped, desperately hugging the girl. She looked to her bodyguards. "We need to get her to a hospital!" The older women nodded, and all helped to carry Sakura into the car, an anxious Tomoyo wringing her hands behind them.

"Sakura-chan.." she whispered, easing herself into the car beside the unconscious girl. "What on earth happened to you.."

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White seemed to be everywhere; a brisk, fresh white, free of harmful bacteria and disease, portraying a strict and orderly atmosphere. Every room in the hospital was the same – bleak and blank, yet clean and practical. Doctors and nurses busied themselves, scuttling from room to room, checking the various things they needed to. For the patient in Room 204, though, doctors were not the only ones keeping watch over her..

Warm, chocolate eyes washed over what he could see of his little sister once again. His expression was stoic, eyes hard; whoever had done this to her would pay. Touya leant back against the door, arms folded, ever the protective big brother – at least when Sakura wasn't watching – and worried out of his mind. The phone call from Tomoyo (currently curled up on a hospital chair and dozing) was really the last thing he expected: an almost-hysterical girl trying to explain that his sister had been beaten up severely. Unconsciously, Touya clenched his fists. _'Whoever did this is going to die.'_

A light tap on the door caused Touya to break out of his reverie, nodding slightly as a doctor came in to check on Sakura's progress. As the young man went about his business, the raven-haired girl in the corner stirred, opening slightly bloodshot eyes and staring blurrily around. It was obvious she had been crying.

"Sensei," she mumbled, "how is she?"

The doctor, writing on a clipboard, glanced over. "She's fine, besides the injuries. We've cleaned them all up, and while that broken ankle is going to take a bit to heal, the rest isn't too bad. Lots of bruises, some scratches and cuts, a few we've had to stitch.. looks like your typical mugging."

Touya glowered at the doctor. "But nothing was stolen." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"Well, so we figure. Her wallet, phone, and other assorted personal items seem to be left intact," he grimaced, "so it makes me wonder if.."

Tomoyo bolted up, staring, already knowing what the doctor was suggesting. "You don't mean she's been raped?"

The doctor shook his head. "We don't have any proof, but it's a possibility. We'll be doing some tests on her to check, and gave her some pills to ward off STDs and pregnancy – just in case. Seems unlikely, because you would have noticed.. certain things, but no point in not being careful." He coughed slightly, and nodded to the two visitors, before leaving. Touya still looked stoic, though judging by the tics and twitches occasionally visible on his countenance, it was obvious that his day just kept on getting better. Tomoyo, meanwhile, just stared at Sakura, speechless.

"Sakura-chan.." She trailed off, wondering what, if anything, she could do. She'd called Touya, Fujitaka, and her mother; who else needed to know.. "Li-kun!" Tomoyo blinked, realising that she would have to tell the boy, but already dreading what he would do about it. After all, he was about as protective as Sakura as Touya was. Touya glanced over to her at the outburst.

"What about that gaki?" He growled.

"I'll have to call him. He deserves to know what happened. He cares for Sakura as much as even you do," Touya nodded, slowly, annoyed that the girl was so right. Tomoyo stood up, pacing towards the door. "I'll be back soon."

Even after the sapphire-eyed girl left the room, Touya refused to remove his eyes from his little sister. After a while, though, he sighed. "Why is it always you that is involved.. I thought everything was over for now.."

After finally finding where the payphones were, Tomoyo inserted her phone card carefully dialled a number she had rung so many times in the past. This time, though, it wouldn't be a casual conversation with Meiling; no, this time it was something much more serious. After hearing the ring, she inhaled largely, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

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Numerous shades of orange, yellow, red and purple stained the skies above Hong Kong, the last lingering trails of sunset still visible. In the estate of one of the richer families still living on the island, the Li family's, there was very little bustle about the grounds, apart from one young boy, furiously training with a sort of longsword. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead, occasionally spraying off as he practiced another sort of parry or swipe, showing that the young Li Syaoran had been at the activity for quite a while. After cutting down a few more invisible enemies, eventually, the chestnut-haired boy found himself unable to continue on for much longer without a break, and succumbed to his tired muscles, slipping down to lay upon the soft grass. His sword rattled to the ground beside him, and Syaoran spread out with a sigh.

Though Syaoran had been feeling somewhat forlorn since his mother had forced him to return back home from Tomoeda a couple of years ago, today he was feeling somehow different. Something was telling him that there was something wrong, that something evil was about, and it seemed to have something to do with Sakura. Though he tried to tell himself he was just looking for an excuse to go back to Japan, his subconscious refused to ignore it, and as such, the thoughts had been bugging him all day.

"Syaoran?" A familiar female voice came from somewhere above him, and Syaoran twisted around to look at an approaching Meiling. She smiled at him; admittedly, she still had feelings for the boy, but she was slowly giving him up – even though the baka had yet to tell _her_ anything! "Dinner's going to be ready soon. Don't stay out here for too much longer."

Syaoran grunted in reply, hefting himself to a standing position. "I'm done anyway. I'm too bloody tired to do anything more tonight." He didn't elaborate more on the matter, though, and Meiling knew better than to ask. He didn't want to worry her, and she didn't want to annoy him; it was a good combination.

Together, the cousins (and former fiancés) slowly wandered back up to the mansion that was their home. It was funny, though, for the only residents within it at the moment were Syaoran, Meiling, and Wei. Syaoran's sisters had decided to go on a trip to Europe for some obscure reason even he had trouble fathoming, and his mother had the tendency to disappear at random without telling anyone. Sighing, he rubbed a hand through his sweat-matted hair.

Meiling sniffed as they entered the house. "You need a shower! You stink!" Syaoran merely rolled his eyes, and would have replied with a better retort before Wei stuck his head around a door, eyes fixated upon the young male.

"Syaoran-sama?" He queried, and Syaoran glanced over, "There's a phone call for you, from a Daidouji-san," bowing his head slightly, the butler went off back to finishing dinner. Syaoran shared a wordless look with Meiling, before quickly going to the phone, all the while realising his sense of trepidation just kept growing as the moments passed.

"Moshi moshi, Daidouji?" Syaoran said, placing the receiver up to his ear.

"Ahh, moshi moshi, Li-kun.. I.. have some bad news. I suggest sitting down.. it's about Sakura-chan."

Syaoran clenched the phone, just on the verge of breaking it; so his feeling _was_ right! "What's wrong with her?!"

"Well.. she's in hospital at the moment. She's been mugged." Syaoran was dead silent, his face pale. Tomoyo took that as the cue for her to continue. "She's got a broken ankle, a lot of cuts and abrasions, a mild concussion.. nothing too bad. But the odd thing was," she hesitated, "it seems nothing was stolen. So the doctors were thinking that perhaps.. maybe.."

Syaoran swore profusely, resisting the urge to hurt something – or someone. "Tell me who the bastard is! I'll go down there and slice out his fuckin' heart--"

Tomoyo knew this was going to happen. "Li-kun, calm down! Please, for Sakura-chan's sake! We don't need you and Touya-san rampaging about Tokyo.. just please, don't do anything stupid. Promise me you won't?"

"Whatever," grunted Syaoran, still muttering various profanities under his breath. The sick freak that did that to Sakura was going to die by his own hands. Even if she wasn't raped.. they would still die for hurting her! He clenched his fists, so enraged as to not notice the watchful gaze of both Meiling and Wei on him from the other side of the room.

"I don't have much time left on this call, Li-kun. Gomen nasai! Please don't do anything stupid!"

"Ja," Syaoran hung up the phone with a click, glaring at a spot on the wall. Eventually, though, he turned around, meeting the gaze of an uneasy Meiling. "Sakura's been attacked. Get out of my way. I'm going to Japan." Syaoran then proceeded to stride across the living area, heading up to his bedroom to pack the essentials. He'd get the next plane out of Hong Kong, and then hunt the asshole down. He'd teach him the real meaning of pain.

"Syaoran.." Meiling made no move to stop her cousin, watching as the enraged boy stormed upstairs. Though she didn't know what exactly was going on, it was bad, very bad, whatever it was. Even she, with no magical abilities at all, could tell when a bad omen was coming. Meiling shivered, before quickly following her cousin upstairs; it seemed the two of them were going back to Tomoeda after all. Too bad it was with such a bad atmosphere..

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"Silly kids.."

Night had fallen long before in Japan, moonlight casting an eerie glow across the top floor of a multi-storey office building. All had gone home bar one, still lurking in the largest room of the skyscraper, leaning back in an executive-style leather chair as he chuckled to himself. No lights were on, and very little could be seen of the overtime worker, apart from an occasional wisp of hair or swish of fabric.

"They really don't know what they're getting themselves into.."

Towards the side of the room, an opaque albeit ethereal screen floated in midair, currently portraying a scene at the Li clan's estate. The man in the chair clicked his fingers once, and the scene switched to a hospital room, looking down on a sleeping, auburn-haired girl. The man waved his hand slightly, and the screen disappeared _like magic_.

"It's all going as she said it would, though.. this plan is perfect."

A knock on the door alerted the mysterious man to the presence of others, and into his room came three other shadowy figures. A smile caressed the countenance of the leader as he observed his three minions returning from a job well done.

"I see it went well."

"We got the missstresss good and well, sssir." This speaker had a distinct lisp, almost like a snake's. He chuckled harshly, the hiss evident even then.

"How fun it was, too.. she didn't seem to enjoy it, though." If one looked closely at the shadow of the second, you could swear that something long and curling, almost like a tail, coiled around near his legs.

"You didn't go too far, did you?"

"Of course not, sir. We feel no attraction to human beings." The third spoke now, accentuating his statement with what sounded like someone flapping a giant pair of wings – somehow.

"Good. Very good." The leader stood from his chair, now, a fairly tall figure, clothed in flowing robes of rich crimson and gold. Long locks of silvery-purple fell to about his waist, meticulously neat. He turned to the three minions, all of which were now lounging about the room, revelling in their success.

"Rest for now, you three. We have more work to perform tomorrow. And let's just see if our 'Little Mistress' can fix it all again now, hmm?"

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Well, the first chapter is complete! What did you think? Very mysterious collection of bad guys there, I must say.. and don't think you've seen the last of them. Oh no. Not at all. Don't worry, this isn't your cliché Sakura-gets-raped-and-is-pregnant-blah-di-blah kind of fic.. actually, she wasn't touched that way whatsoever. Lucky, ne?

So what's going on?

You'll see.. -smirks-

Please read and review! I'd appreciate it a lot! This is my first fic I've decided to really post up here.. and I like where it's going, too.

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**Japanese Translations  
**Most people know a lot of these already, but for consistency's sake, I'll add them. 

**Konnichiwa**: Hello (technically good day).  
**Minna-san**: Everyone.  
**-chan**: A suffix added to someone's name, and in this case, to denote friendship. Usually used by young girls.  
**Nani**: What.  
**Jii-san**: Old man.  
**Ojou-chan**: Young lady.  
**Hoe**: Sakura's multi-purpose word, used to express confusion, fright, surprise, and pretty much anything else she wants it to. It's all in the inflection, people!  
**Ano**: Um, er, and any other 'stuttering' words.  
**Moshi moshi**: A greeting used on the phone.  
**-san**: A suffix added to someone's name, usually to show respect, or that you don't know the person very well.  
**-kun**: A suffix added to someone's name to denote friendship. Kind of like a masculine version of –chan.  
**Kami-sama**: God.  
**Sensei**: Word usually used for teachers, but is also used for people like doctors, vets, nurses, etc.  
**Gaki**: Brat, kid, etc. A weak kind of insult.  
**Baka**: Idiot, stupid, etc. Quite offensive insult, even though the translation doesn't really make it seem as such.  
**Gomen nasai**: Sorry; somewhat polite.  
**Ja ne**: Seeya. Very informal. Syaoran speaks extremely informally, so he doesn't even say the 'ne'.  
**Ne**: Right?, Yeah?, Hey?, and other such words (ie. It's good, right?).


End file.
